CAIRO - Egyptian stocks fell on Monday driven by a profit-taking sentiment, ending a two-day gaining streak, traders said. Egypt's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 1.33 per cent to 5,333.73 points. The broader index EGX 70 added 0.41 to 649.16 points, while the EGX 100 slipped by 0.23 per cent to 989.56 points. Locals made net purchases worth LE150.4 million ($25.3 million), while Arabs and non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE7.8 million and LE142.5 million respectively, according to Bourse data. Volume totalled LE786 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) shed 0.69 per cent to LE30.44 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, shed 1.36 per cent to LE19.53 per share. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest listed builder, plunged by 1.84 per cent to LE4.26 per share. Orascom Construction Industries rose by 1.86 per cent to LE253.71 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, fell by 2.2 per cent LE4.44 per share. Globally, doubts about Europe's ability to manage its debt hammered markets, knocking the single currency, driving up bond yields and dragging down equities in Europe and elsewhere. Investors were digesting a block of bad news about the eurozone crisis, a political and fiscal struggle to bring the huge debt in peripheral economies to heel, according to Reuters. Markets have generally decoupled Italy from other parts of the euro zone periphery during the crisis, which has led to bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Spanish voters, meanwhile, added to the angst, becoming the latest electorate to punish sitting European governments for the current economic climate. Investors are increasingly concerned that voter rebellions against austerity plans could cause bailouts and budgetary pact agreements to unravel, leaving large swathes of debt in jeopardy. The ruling Spanish Socialists were hit by stinging losses in local elections and now face walking a tightrope between voter anger over sky-high unemployment and investor demands for strict austerity measures. "There's a risk of everything becoming excessively politicized which will be detrimental for the economy," said Carlos Berzosa, a professor of applied economy at Madrid's Complutense university. Investors reacted to the various events with a burst of risk aversion, shifting funds into US government debt, gold and the dollar. The euro fell to a record low against the generally safe-haven Swiss franc. It was down 1 percent against the dollar and was down 1.2 percent against the yen. Worries about some form of debt restructuring by Greece was a key element in the sell-off. European shares suffered the same fate as the euro, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index selling of 1.5 per cent. Risk aversion spread beyond Europe. World stocks as measured by MSCI were down 1.2 per cent, particularly hit by emerging markets losses. The MSCI emerging market stock index was down more than two per cent, for a year-to-date loss of more than three per cent. Emerging markets, despite the strong economic conditions that some of them enjoy, are still seen as relatively risky investments and therefore sell off when sentiment turns cautious.
